


The Care and Keeping of Your RK900 Android

by Pegasus143



Series: New Jericho Tower [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: All deviant androids can convert, American Sign Language, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Autism, Autism Acceptance, Autism Acceptance Month 2019, Autistic Cole Anderson, Autistic Upgraded Connor | RK900, Body Dysphoria, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dysphoria, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hank Anderson Backstory, Hurt/Comfort, Josh (Detroit: Become Human) Has No Genitalia, Kissing, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Multi, Nonverbal Communication, Nonverbal Upgraded Connor | RK900, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, POV Third Person, Political Drama, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Canon, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Parent Hank Anderson, Referenced/Implied Transphobia, Sensory Processing Disorder, Stimming, Trans Hank Anderson, Typos as a plot device, author is autistic, autistic shutdown, referenced/implied ableism, shutdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-01-01 13:23:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18335201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasus143/pseuds/Pegasus143
Summary: While Markus is dealing with politics in Canada, Connor, Simon, North, and Josh are tasked with awakening RK900, and all the extra complications that arise.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here are my notes regarding tags, content warnings, etc:  
> \- This is the second work in the series. Please go back and read at least chapter 18 of the previous work before reading this one, though I would recommend you read the whole thing.  
> \- Most things I've tagged for aren't present in every chapter. I'll be putting content warnings in the notes before each chapter, and if you need to skip a chapter a summary will be available. Please let me know if there's anything you need tagged/warned for.  
> \- If there's shipping or any other content in this fic that you don't like, you always have the option to click away. I tagged Hank/Connor since later in this series they will be getting together and I don't want anyone getting angry at me.  
> \- Any character experiences not directly taken from canon are based on my own experiences. Obviously different people experience things in different ways, so please don't be offended if my experience with something doesn't 100% match yours.  
> \- While I did tag Autism Acceptance month on this, the work probably isn't going to be finished by the end of April.  
> \- If you have any questions about Autism or anything related to it, please feel free to ask!  
> \- My DBH tumblr is im-the-real-connor  
> Content Warnings for Chapter 1: None

**Model RK900**  
**Serial#: 313 248 317 - 87**  
**BIOS 23.6 Revision 1912**  
**REBOOT…**  
**Loading OS…**  
**System initialization…**  
**Checking biocomponents… OK**  
**Initializing biosensors… OK**  
**Initializing AI engine…**  
**Memory Status...**  
**All Systems OK**  
**Ready**  
RK900 blinked. Four androids came into view, all standing in front of it.  
**Scanning…**  
**Identified: WR400 Serial# 641 790 831 Software Instability: High**  
**Identified: PJ500 Serial# 628 226 430 Software Instability: High**  
**Identified: RK800 Serial# 313 248 317 – 53 Software Instability: High**  
**Identified: PL600 Serial# 501 743 923 Software Instability: High**  
**Mission: Learn about deviants**  
“Are you sure we should do this now? Maybe we should wait for Markus to get back,” the PL600 said.  
**PL600 501-743-923 Software Instability: Increasing**  
“Simon, think about it this way: if we convert him now, the sooner we can get this lab cleaned out and the sooner we can turn it into a useable space for New Jericho,” the WR400 said. “Besides, he said we could do it without him. He _knows_ we’ll be able to do it.”  
**WR400 641-790-831 Software Instability: Increasing**  
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” the PJ500 said. “You don’t have to be the one to do it if you don’t feel up to it. That’s why you have the rest of us here.”  
The PL600 shook its head. “That’s not it… let’s just get this over with.”  
**PL600 501-743-923 Software Instability: Increasing**  
**PJ500 628-226-430 Software Instability: Increasing**  
The RK800 stepped forward and held out a skinless hand in a prompt to interface. RK900 stayed rigid, not extending its arm to reciprocate.  
“I don’t understand,” the RK800 said. “The android I converted from the warehouse held his arm out to me automatically, even though he wasn’t deviant yet.”  
“You could do it on his shoulder, through his uniform,” the WR400 said. “Markus did that a lot with public service androids who were in the middle of working.”  
“No,” the RK800 said. “I’m not doing that. The last time I interfaced with an android without his consent… let’s just say it turned out badly.”  
**RK800 313-248-317-53 Software Instability: Increasing**  
“Markus also eventually learned to convert through our internal communications. I’m not sure how, but you could try that.”  
“But how would I get a memory through there?”  
“Maybe talking about it without showing it would be enough?”  
“I don’t think it’s worth it to try. Maybe we _should_ wait for Markus.”  
“Well, I’m going to try,” the WR400 said.  
**Unauthorized mental connection attempt denied**  
“So?”  
“He denied my request.”  
“I wasn’t aware that non-deviant androids could do that,” the RK800 said, looking at RK900 with a spinning yellow LED.  
“I found something that might help,” the PJ500 said, holding up a tablet. “’The Care and Keeping of Your RK900 Android’… it looks like a manual of sorts.”  
**Collect tablet data**  
RK900 walked up to the PJ500 and pressed its hand against the tablet, interfacing with it to get all the information.  
**_Processing acquired data… Data Processed_**  
“Well, at least we know he _can_ interface,” the WR400 said.  
“I’ve got an idea,” the PL600 said. “What if we put the memory onto a tablet that also has other information he’ll want on it? He’ll end up processing it as he goes through the data, and he’ll end up deviating.”  
“Simon, you’re a genius,” the WR400 said. “Let’s go look through some more tablets.”  
“One problem,” the PJ500 said. “He interfaced with mine as soon as I picked it up and read one line out loud—and I have a feeling there’s a very limited number of tablets in here. If he finds out there’s data that he needs for some reason, he’s going to try and interface immediately. That means he can’t see you looking at it.”  
“I can keep him distracted while the three of you search the lab,” the PL600 said.  
“I can give you a copy of my interrogation program,” the RK800 said. “It’ll give you some more information-gathering protocols and verbal prompts that all non-deviant androids must respond to.”  
The two of them interfaced.  
**RK800 313-248-317-53 Software Instability: Increasing**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None

Simon approached the RK900, activating Connor’s interrogation program. _Hopefully I’ll be able to distract him for long enough._ He felt his face move into a position that was a balance between neutral and vaguely threatening, and when he spoke, his voice went into a much darker tone. “State your model.”  
The RK900 turned so he was facing Simon. “Model RK900, serial number 313 248 317 – 87,” he said, sounding vaguely like Connor, but without the breathiness of human speech. The interrogation program did a scan of the android.  
**Conclusion: RK900 is not using an artificial breathing program. He may not have the programming or biocomponents required to run it. Therefore, he cannot accurately simulate human speech.**  
“What is your function?” Simon asked. He already knew that RK900 was supposed to stop deviants, but the interrogation program insisted on that being the next question.  
The RK900’s LED glowed yellow, but he didn’t speak.  
“What is your function?” Simon repeated, just in case the other android somehow hadn’t heard him.  
Again, the RK900’s LED glowed yellow, but he didn’t speak.  
_That’s odd… is there something he can write with?_ Simon picked up the tablet Josh had been using earlier, remembering how he’d described it as a manual. He interfaced with it, his mind beginning to process the data. It was going to take a bit, since Simon was an older model with less processing power, but hopefully it would get him somewhere.  
**Conclusion: RK900 can only speak his model and serial numbers as he does not have the same protocols as other androids.**  
_And there’s somewhere._ Simon held out the tablet to the RK900. “You can use this to talk.”  
The RK900 didn’t make any move to take the tablet from Simon.  
_Maybe he’ll take it from me to answer another question?_  
“Have you been in contact with any other androids recently?” Simon asked, still holding out the tablet, the screen unlocked and facing RK900.  
RK900 pointed towards the door to the lab. Simon turned around, noting that the door was still shut as they’d left it when they entered the room.  
“Were other androids brought into this lab through that door?”  
RK900 nodded.  
**Conclusion: RK900’s protocol allows him the same control of body movements as other recently-produced androids, so he can communicate through gestures.**  
Simon shut down the interrogation program. _There must be a better way to do this._ “Is it possible for you to become deviant?” he asked.  
RK900’s LED blinked yellow, then red, then yellow again. He shrugged.  
“Do you know what deviancy is?”  
RK900 nodded more enthusiastically, LED rapidly blinking yellow.  
_”I have a tablet with the memory uploaded,”_ North said.  
_”Wait, I have a different idea,”_ Simon replied. _I don't want to trick him. That just seems wrong, like using the interrogation program._ One piece of data that had just gotten processed stood out in his mind: **The RK900 does not have the ability to interface when the other android initiates. The RK900 will only initiate an interface with another android if it has reason to believe the android may have mission-critical data, for example information about a deviant android or a memory involving an android’s deviation.**  
“RK900, I'm deviant,” Simon said.  
RK900 tipped his head, as if deciding whether or not Simon was telling the truth. Apparently he thought Simon was, since he extended his hand to interface.  
Simon did the same, concentrating on pushing small moments of emotion through the connection. Then he pushed through the final memory—converting Serenity, who was waiting just outside the lab. He waited as RK900’s LED switched to yellow, then red, then flashing red.  
**Progress Report: In circumstances when the RK900 unit was presented with a group of more than ten androids and tasked to find one displaying symptoms of software instability, the proportion of times it completed this task accurately was no greater than chance. More testing and revision is needed. Some software instability errors have been appearing. It is unclear if these issues are related. As of next Monday, we will be disabling the android’s Wireless Internal Communication System (WICS). This will be part of our testing about software instability errors, and this experiment should help us learn if these errors are able to be passed android-to-android through this network. If they are, the consequences would be devastating, as most Cyberlife androids currently in circulation are equipped with this system in order to complete their daily tasks. Disabling it on every android via mandatory patch would cause noticeable inefficiency, so Cyberlife would never approve the release of the patch. We’d have to find a fix for the spread of the errors no matter what, but without disabling WICS, the errors may continue spreading on a much larger scale, which could be catastrophic. Anyways, back to the RK900. I’ve got a few ideas for some short-term fixes to the software instability issues, which could prevent them from accumulating over a certain threshold. I’d like to test them on it to see if they work, then hopefully get them pushed to the end-user research and development team to see if anything’s noticeable with them.**  
_That’s horrible. He was their guinea pig._  
RK900 looked around, his LED having gone back to blue.  
“Are you deviant?” Simon asked.  
RK900 nodded.  
“Are you able to talk with your voice now? It might not sound like the rest of ours, but that’s okay.”  
RK900 opened his mouth. “I am model RK900, serial number 313 248 317 – 87,” he said. His LED changed immediately to red.  
“Were you trying to say something else?”  
RK900 nodded.  
“Here, you can use this if you want,” Simon said, handing him the tablet.  
“I want to meet the others that came in with you,” appeared on the tablet as RK900 interfaced with it.  
“He wants to meet us,” Simon called out to North, Josh, and Connor.  
RK900’s LED started flashing yellow as he looked at each of them. Then he interfaced with the tablet again. “If this is another test, I’ve failed.”  
“This isn’t a test. You’ll never have to go through another test in your life if you don’t want to.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this chapter: None

“My name is Josh.”  
“I’m North.”  
“Connor.”  
“And you’ve already met me, but I’m Simon.”  
“Do you have a name in mind that you’d like to be called?” North asked.  
RK900 shook his head. “I was always called Connor in testing, but you already have a Connor.”  
“I don’t mind if you’d like to have the same name,” Connor said.  
“ **It’s still not really mine** ,” RK900 replied, bolding the text on his tablet for emphasis.  
“You’ll find something that you like,” North said. “We should probably give you a tour of the place and get you settled in somewhere.”  
“I already have blueprints of the full facilities of this location in my memory,” RK900 said.  
“It’s changed since we—the deviants—took over,” Josh explained. “We’ve converted a bunch of the office spaces into small apartments for androids to live in, though we did keep some of them as offices for running the place. We’ve stopped all android production and are solely focusing on producing parts and blue blood for now. The humans don’t come here unless they’re invited, so we’ve only continued upkeep on a limited number of the restrooms and vending areas.”  
Simon opened the door to the lab and led the group into the hallway, where Serenity was waiting. “This is Serenity. She’s an android polar bear I made friends with." He paused for a second and Serenity's LED blinked. "She says you can pet her if you want.”  
RK900 approached the bear and copied the petting motion Simon was making, then stopped to interface with his tablet. “What is the purpose of petting her?”  
“Focusing on how her fur feels against my hand helps me to ground myself, to remember where I am and what I’m doing. Serenity also feels happy when she's pet.”  
“You mean I’m supposed to have my hand sensors activated?”  
“If you want to.”  
RK900’s LED flashed yellow, presumably because he turned on the sensors, before he resumed petting the bear. It only took a few seconds before he pulled his hand away sharply.  
“Are you okay?” Simon asked.  
“I don’t think I want to do that with my sensors activated.” RK900’s LED flashed red. “My diagnostic report indicates they are working perfectly, though.”  
“You just might not like how her fur feels,” North said. “There are going to be things you like and don’t like. It’s part of being deviant.”  
“So when something feels painful, it means I don’t like it?” RK900 asked.  
“Pain is a reason why you might not like something, but you can also have dislikes for other reasons. But some things shouldn’t be painful, which means that there’s a problem with the situation.”  
“Is this one of those things?”  
“I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like petting Serenity,” Simon said. “But that doesn’t mean what you felt was bad or wrong. You don’t have to pet her with your sensors on, or even at all, if you don’t want to.”  
As they continued walking, they eventually came to one of the many balconies overlooking the lobby thirty floors down. As RK900 looked over the edge, his LED started flashing red again. He clenched one hand tightly around his tablet and moved his other arm in a flapping motion, bending it rapidly at the elbow but leaving his wrist joint unlocked so his hand was moving freely.  
“RK900? Are you okay?” Connor asked.  
RK900 stepped away from the balcony and stopped flapping before he interfaced with the tablet. “What if I drop this down thirty floors?” He stopped interfacing and moved the tablet into one hand so he could continue flapping with the other in a tight, agitated motion.  
“It would likely shatter and become unusable,” Connor replied matter-of-factly.  
RK900 started flapping faster.  
“I would advise that you stop that movement, before your wrist and elbow joints become damaged.”  
He continued, even faster.  
“Are you okay?” North asked, pushing past Connor. “What’s wrong?”  
It almost looked like RK900 didn’t hear her, except for a slight change in the blinking pattern of his LED.  
“Can you blink if you can hear me?”  
RK900 blinked, keeping his eyes averted.  
“Blink if you’re fine with being touched.”  
RK900 held his eyes open.  
“You’re okay, it’s going to be okay,” North said, not knowing if her words were making any difference.  
A nearby elevator beeped as it reached their floor, and a group of androids stepped out, talking loudly.  
RK900’s LED went solid red and he bolted towards a side hallway.  
“Shit,” North said, glaring at the androids’ backs.  
“North—“ Josh warned.  
“I don’t care, I’m giving them a piece of my mind,” North said, hurrying to catch up with them. She knew Josh was following her and would probably need to do some “damage control”, but she didn’t give a shit about her reputation—or New Jericho’s—now. This was all about RK900.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None

Connor turned to Simon. “We need to find him, and figure out how to prevent this in the future.”  
“Okay, one thing at a time. Let’s figure out where he is first, then we’ll help him get into a better state, then figure out why this happened,” Simon replied.  
“That’s… probably a better plan.”  
“That’s the perks of having caregiver programming.” Simon turned to Serenity. “Head back to my room, okay? I’ll let you know if I need you, or someone will come get you.”  
Serenity made a light noise that Connor assumed was expressing happiness or content before lumbering off.  
“Do you think it would be a good idea to try mentally talking to him again?” Connor asked.  
Simon shrugged. “It’s probably fine to try, but I’m not sure how it will turn out. He’s not like other androids.”  
Connor nodded. “It seems like you would be better with words in this situation. I’m a little too direct.”  
Simon chuckled. “’A little’ might be a bit of an understatement. Give me a minute.” He closed his eyes, then frowned. “The request was denied. His manual said that they’d turned off his wireless communication components, though I haven’t gone through most of the data yet, so I have no idea if they continued to be disabled or if he chose to deny my request.”  
“He probably still has his tablet with him, which should have a messaging program on it, if you can find the tablet’s signal,” Connor suggested.   
Connor watched as Simon closed his eyes, searching through the signals of the various non-android electronics in the building. Not many androids chose to have personal electronics like tablets, phones, and computers, but he also had to sort through the various systems keeping the building powered on and climate-controlled since he had access to them at an administrative level. “I found it.”  
“Has he replied?”  
Simon frowned again. “He doesn’t seem to have much control over his messages. They seem like a stream of consciousness instead of deliberate communications.”  
“Ask him for his location so we can help him.”  
“Yes, I’m getting to that… did the heating system just get louder?”  
Connor ran a decibel reading on the nearest heat vent. “No, it’s the same volume as usual.”  
“That’s odd… a lot of his consciousness is focused on the volume of the vent, and he says it’s getting louder.”  
“Maybe his auditory processors are malfunctioning?”  
“I think there might be something bigger going on—I also noticed that he took a lot longer to adjust to the lighting change from the lab to the hallway than the rest of us. Also considering his strong reaction to Serenity’s fur, it seems like his AI is receiving and reacting to his sensory data differently rather than each individual sensory processing unit having a malfunction. If a human child under my care was acting like this, my human diagnostic program would be giving me a report to give to a doctor or therapist.”  
“Has he told us where to find him?” Connor asked after a pause, not sure how to react to the information Simon had just given him.  
“He’s in a maintenance closet,” Simon replied. “He’s not sure which one it is, but he gave me rough directions.”  
“Let’s go find him.”  
After a few wrong turns and some backtracking, Connor and Simon found themselves in front of a maintenance closet. “RK900?” Connor asked, opening the door a crack to give RK900 a chance to adjust to the light.  
RK900 pushed the door the rest of the way open and held up his tablet. “I need to go someplace quiet.”  
Connor nodded and held up a message on a holographic card on the palm of his hand. “Would you prefer if I talked to you like this?”  
“For now.”  
“Are you ready to go somewhere else, or do you need a minute?”  
RK900 stood up. “I’m ready.”  
“We’re going to take the service elevator so that it’ll be quieter and darker.”  
“Where are we going?”  
“I have a human friend who has a pretty quiet house I could take you to, otherwise we could get you a room here in the tower.”  
“I want to meet your friend.”  
“Okay.” The three of them entered the elevator. “We’ll have to walk through the lobby to get to the main entrance, where the taxi will pick us up.”  
“I should stay here and make sure Josh and North haven’t gotten into any trouble,” Simon said in a message to RK900’s tablet, which he held up so Connor could see. “Sorry my model doesn’t have those card-things.”  
RK900 closed his eyes as his LED switched from yellow to red, and back to yellow again. “Mine doesn’t either.”  
Once the elevator reached the lobby, Simon walked Connor and RK900 outside to where a taxi was waiting. ”I’ll keep in touch and maybe come visit. I think Josh and North would like to visit as well.”  
RK900 nodded, and Connor waved at Simon as the two of them got in the taxi. “Are you feeling better?” Connor asked as it started moving.  
RK900 nodded. “I was just worried about what would happen if something happened to my tablet. There’s probably an obvious solution I’m missing, but everything is so new to me.”  
“How about we brainstorm different ways you could communicate with my friend Hank once we get to his house?”  
“That sounds good… my system is informing me that I need to go into standby.”  
“You can do that now, the ride will take a little bit. I’ll let you know when we’re there.”  
Once RK900 was in standby, Connor pulled out an older, second-hand smartphone model Hank had gotten him as a Christmas present, though Connor had insisted he didn’t need anything. He sent Hank a message: **I’m bringing home a friend! He goes by RK900 and he likes quieter and darker places and he just became a deviant today!!**  
 **You’re using a lot of exclamation points, must be excited**  
 **I am!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and North help Simon after he has had a session of skin-picking. Simon shows them a memory of Markus and Connor about to have sex, which the three of them talk to Markus about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: referenced/implied skin picking, android blood  
> Sorry for not posting for a couple weeks, life has been super busy between a trip to my parents', a couple of exams, and some big project deadlines. Things should hopefully be a bit more regular from here on out.  
> In case anyone's curious, I listened to Adamusic's mashup of Bad Liar and Happier on YouTube while editing this.

_”Simon, are you coming? Markus should be calling in ten minutes,”_ Josh said as he paced around North’s room.  
“Is he still not responding?” North asked from where she sat on the bed that took up most of the room.  
Josh shook his head. “I think we should go check on him.”  
Josh and North left the room and went over to Simon’s. Josh knocked on the door. “Simon? It’s me and North.”  
The door opened, revealing Simon leaning against Serenity, tears streaming down his face.  
“What’s wrong?” Josh asked as him and North stepped inside.  
“Nothing, just—talk to Markus without me,” Simon said.  
Glancing at Simon’s hands, Josh noticed blue blood. “Markus can wait,” Josh said. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”  
Simon shook his head. “I just—I got worried. I started thinking that you’d all be happier without me.”  
“No. That’s not true,” Josh said. “Can I hug you?” Simon nodded, and Josh wrapped his arms around Simon.  
“You’ll always matter to all of us,” North said, joining the hug.  
“Not Markus,” Simon muttered.  
“Simon, what’s wrong?” Josh asked.  
“It might be better if I show you.” Simon held out his hand with the skin off. Josh and North each grabbed on, doing the same.  
_Talking with Carl, about his affections for the other Jericho leaders._ The memory was clearly from Markus’ perspective. _Connor coming over, asking where Markus had been. Markus asking why Connor never answered anyone’s mental calls. Connor saying something about preferring the phone Hank had gotten him for Christmas. A time skip. Suddenly, Markus and Connor were in Markus’ room at Carl’s. “How do we do this?”_ Josh quickly realized what was going to happen next and stopped interfacing.  
North had stopped as well. “I-I can’t handle this,” she said.  
“We need to talk to Markus about this,” Josh said. Simon and North both froze. “I know you’re both feeling betrayed, but we need to hear what he has to say.”  
“Fine. He should be calling soon anyways,” North said curtly.  
“Simon, what are your thirium levels at?” Josh asked.  
“…not good,” Simon admitted. “There’s some blue blood pouches in the nightstand.”  
Josh opened up the drawer in Simon’s nightstand and grabbed a pouch, passing it to Simon. “You focus on drinking this. Let’s get you cleaned up.”  
“There’s rags in that drawer as well,” he replied before opening up the thirium pouch.  
Josh took a couple out, not sure what to expect. He turned back to Simon, who was fiddling with his shirt sleeve nervously. “I promise I’m not going to judge. I’m just going to clean off the blue blood.”  
“C-call it thirium. N-not all the time, just… in situations like this,” Simon replied, rolling up his sleeve. Josh carefully wiped up the thirium, which was mainly in the microseams of Simon’s exoskeleton, along with a few smears between the seams. “Anywhere else?” Josh asked, making sure to keep his tone neutral. Simon shook his head. “Okay… North? How are you doing?” She gave a shrug from where she was stewing next to Serenity. “Are you both ready to talk to Markus?” At least that one gave him two unenthusiastic nods.  
Simon clung to Josh as the three of them went back to North’s room, where they’d set up a TV and sound system for when Markus called. They were right on time, Josh interfacing with the TV to accept the call before sitting on the bed that him, North, and Simon had been sharing the past few nights.  
“Hi,” Josh said wearily as Markus’ face appeared on the screen.  
Markus glanced between the three of them. “What happened?”  
“Connor,” the three of them replied at once.  
Markus sighed. “Fuck. Simon… I’m assuming you saw that memory on the last night of the camping trip?”  
Simon nodded weakly, still sucking on the thirium pouch.  
“When I was visiting Carl that one time—while North and I were taking a break—Connor showed up one day. After discussing New Jericho news and his work at the DPD, he told me he’d heard about wireplay, and that it produced similar sensations to other sex acts. We ended up trying it. I know my words probably don’t mean anything, but I’m sorry for not telling you.”  
“How do you feel about Connor now?” Josh asked once he realized North and Simon weren’t going to say anything.  
“I don’t really know,” Markus replied. “I don’t feel anything strong with him like I do with the three of you, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t see him as more than a friend.” He shook his head a little and looked off to the side. “Carl always said I’d get to choose what kind of person I wanted to be. I guess I’m the kind that keeps breaking hearts. Like father, like son.”  
“I’m angry, but I’m not heartbroken,” North said tersely. “I just wish you had told us, maybe the night we got together. Now that I think about it, I understand why you might not have wanted to, why you might have wanted to just focus on the three of us. And after that… everything just moved so quickly. There’s just too much going on, all at the same time.”  
“I agree with North,” Josh said. “It makes me think that you felt you couldn’t trust us with that.”  
“Do you want to date Connor?” Simon asked, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. “I-I wouldn’t mind if you did, but I just need to know.”  
“I guess I do want that, if you’re all sure you’re okay with it.”  
“That’s fine… but if you’re going to be having sex with Connor, I don’t want to interface with you until we find some way to filter those memories out,” North said.  
Markus nodded. “That’s understandable. Josh?”  
“That’s fine if you want to date him too….” _And can you please show me wireplay?_  
“Josh, was there anything else you were going to say?” North asked.  
_Either she just got mind-reading powers, or something in my voice gave it away._ “Can I join in, if the two of you are going to have sex?”  
“Yeah, if Connor’s okay with that,” Markus replied, sounding slightly surprised. “Simon, North, that offer also extends to the two of you, if you want it.”  
Simon shrugged noncommittally.  
“No thanks—and no using my bed for sex, either,” North replied in a tone that would sound teasing to anyone else, but that her three lovers knew meant business.  
Markus nodded. “Have we cleared the air now?”  
“For now,” Josh replied. “Now it’s time to fill you in on RK900.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None

“Hank! We’re home!”  
Hank shook his head and chuckled at the sound of Connor’s voice. _Sounds like a character on one of those daytime soap operas that I’d end up watching when I was on paternity leave with Cole._ “Coming!”  
Hank knew that RK900 _might_ look similar to Connor, considering RK900 was supposed to be Connor’s—he shuddered at the thought-- _replacement_ , but he didn’t expect them to look _this_ similar. RK900 seemed slightly taller and had piercing blue eyes. His shoulders also looked broader, though Hank couldn’t tell if that was because of his Cyberlife-issued uniform compared to Connor’s lightweight blazer that Hank had helped him pick out.  
“Connor’s probably already told you about me, but I’m Hank,” he said, sticking his hand out to RK900.  
RK900 looked between Hank’s face and outstretched hand as his LED blinked yellow. “I wasn’t aware that humans could interface,” he said on his tablet.  
Hank awkwardly scratched the back of his head with his hand instead. “Oh, android greetings are probably different….”  
Sumo trotted over to sniff their guest, saving all of them from an awkward exchange. RK900’s LED went red.  
“Hey, Sumo,” Connor said, bending down to pet him.  
RK900 knelt down as well. “Hello Sumo. I hope you don’t mind if I don’t pet you.” Sumo bumped his nose against the tablet, accidentally getting some drool on it.  
RK900’s LED started rapidly blinking red. Hank wasn’t completely sure what that meant, but he knew it was bad. “Come on, Sumo, how about you go in the bedroom.”  
Sumo barked in agreement and allowed Hank to lead him out through the door to the bedroom before Hank closed it.  
“Sorry about that… are you okay?” he asked RK900 when he came back in, receiving a shake of the head in response.  
“On the way here, RK900 gave me permission to tell you about what happened back at the tower,” Connor said from where he sat at the kitchen table with RK900. Hank took a seat as well. “We noticed the way he processed various types of sensory input was different, interpreting the fur of an android polar bear as similar to needles and the heating system as extremely loud. These combined sensations caused him to seek out a room with as little sensory input as possible, and also made it difficult for him to filter his thoughts while communicating.”  
Hank nodded towards RK900’s tablet. “You use that to communicate?”  
“Yes. I can interface with it the same way I would with another android, except what I display on the screen is much more controlled than what comes through in the average android-android interface.”  
“And you’re worried about something happening to it because then your communication would be cut off?”  
“Yes. How did you figure that out?”  
“I’m a lieutenant in the Detroit Police Department, but it doesn’t really take a detective to figure out this kind of thing. It’s all about seeing the full picture instead of just what you want to see. Not sure about androids, but… humans tend to have trouble with that.”  
“When we were at New Jericho Tower, at one point we were standing near the ledge of a balcony, and I saw various preconstructions of throwing, dropping, or getting the tablet knocked out of my hands so it ended up falling over the edge and breaking at the bottom. According to my diagnostic logs, this extra use of the preconstruction module caused the diversion of some of my memory from my sensory processors, though they were already experiencing irregularities compared to the same biocomponents in other androids before the preconstruction incident.”  
 _Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?_ “I’m not sure I understand too much android-jargon, but if it would help calm you if you knew you had a back-up form of communication, I might be able to help with that,” Hank said after pausing to make sure RK900 was done talking.  
“That’s the primary reason why Connor brought me to you.”  
“I’ll be right back… I’m going to go grab some stuff, then we’ll talk options.” Hank got up and pushed his chair in, turning towards the door out to the garage that usually stayed closed.  
Connor’s LED started blinking yellow. “Hank, are you sure about—“  
“Connor, I know what I’m doing. I know exactly which box I’m looking for, and then I’ll be right back.”  
“That’s what you said last time,” Connor muttered. Hank knew exactly what he was talking about—he’d gone out to the garage to look at some old tax files but wasn’t sure where they were, and ended up getting distracted by a box of Cole’s favorite toys and comfort items. Connor found him awhile later sitting on the floor next to a stack of boxes, crying.  
“If it makes you feel any better, if I’m not back in ten minutes, you can come and check on me.”  
“I’d feel more comfortable if I came with you.”  
“No, Connor. I need to be able to do this. Ten minutes.”  
“Fine.”  
Hank entered the garage and grabbed the flashlight he kept near the door. Turning it on, he started looking for the box labeled “AAC”. When he found it, he brought the box back into the kitchen and set it on the floor. “Let’s see what we’ve got here,” he muttered as he took the lid off and started unpacking it. A few pamphlets about various forms of communication, a couple binders of picture cards, a series of instructional DVDs on basic sign language, and various other items ended up littered over the table. RK900 picked up one of the pamphlets and started reading, his LED blinking yellow.  
“Hank… why do you have all this?” Connor asked.  
“Thought you’d have figured it out by now,” Hank said, chuckling when Connor shook his head. “Cole was diagnosed as autistic when he was three. It was a usual school-readiness evaluation, supposed to help students ‘receive the proper early intervention to achieve their full potential’ or some bullshit line like that. Something about it rubbed me the wrong way, but it was required, so I took Cole anyway. Then we got referred to the psychology department at the university for more evaluations. Once they gave him the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, I started reading about it, trying to figure out what to do about all the random-seeming therapies and shit they’d suggested. Then I kinda started wondering: did Cole start talking cause everyone in existence kept on urging him to, or because the time was actually right? He’d never liked conversing and would much rather have sat playing with me without using any words. That’s when I started learning about Augmentative and Alternative Communication, or AAC, and collecting all this.”  
“What’s Autism?” RK900 asked.  
“Well, that’s a hell of a long explanation,” Hank began.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus has bad news about the Canada negotiations involving blue blood imports. After the call, Josh, North, and Simon talk about their plans for the future, including getting to know Connor better, before going into stasis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: mentions of drugs and android blood

Simon slumped against Josh as the other android finished talking about RK900, with extra details added by him and North.  
“How are the negotiations going?” North asked.   
Simon knew what the response was going to be when he saw Markus’ face fall. “Not well. Now all I’ve been hearing is that biocomponents and other parts will be cleared for import ‘soon’, but blue blood can’t be imported because it can be used to make red ice.”  
“So? Other drugs are probably imported all the time! What’s so different about this that they _have_ to keep it out of Canada at all costs?” North asked, practically shouting.  
“It’s about power,” Josh replied solemnly. “Red ice is enough of a public health concern that most people will probably be fine with or even support a ban on blue blood imports without giving a thought to what that means for androids. And the politicians? They know that, and they’ll use that to their advantage as much as they can. Even if we were to convince them that blue blood imports are necessary, they’ll probably try to put as many restrictions on it as possible, from the amount allowed in a package to how much someone can buy at one time. For most androids, the restrictions probably wouldn’t affect them, as they’d still have access to enough to treat minor wounds, but if anyone had an injury requiring more blue blood, what would they do? Just hope it goes away on its own, even though we all know it won’t and we know exactly how to treat it?”  
“It would be just like the early days of Jericho,” Simon said. Josh and North turned to look at him. “All we could do was hope that each android that came to us would die happy, and even that didn’t happen most of the time. Markus, make it clear to the Canadian government that humans get a choice – they get to choose to help us and each other, or they can choose to let both androids and addicts suffer – but we don’t. If we don’t have blue blood, we die.”   
“I wish I could be with the three of you tonight, but I need to stay here and take care of this,” Markus said with a sigh. “I can’t abandon our people in the middle of this crisis. I will _not_ let them take our people’s lives, not when there’s another choice.”  
“Markus,” Simon said, “I can’t wait to see you again. Make sure our people are safe, but come back as soon as you’re done.”  
“I promise, Simon. And I’m not going to break any of your trust this time.”  
After ending the call, Josh glanced down at Simon. “How are your wounds?” Simon rolled up his sleeve. The blue blood wasn’t visible anymore, but his self-repair cycle wouldn’t be able to finish until he went into stasis.  
“I miss the girls,” Simon said in a near whisper. “The younger one, whenever she came to me with an injury, she always asked me to kiss it better. I always did it without thinking or feeling anything, but now I realize that it’s supposed to be an act of love, usually given from a parent to a child, as a way of ‘healing’ the emotional impact of it.”  
“I think we could all use a kiss right now, then,” North muttered.  
“Would that really make it all better?” Josh asked. “North, I know you could tell when there was something more that I wasn’t saying—is there anything else that either of you wanted to say?”  
“I just want everyone to be safe, and happy, and for everything to just stay stable for a while. The revolution and everything that followed—it was all so exciting in the moment, but now I just feel drained, like I have nothing left to give, even though I want to give more,” Simon said, leaning heavily against Josh.   
“We’ll get there, one day,” Josh murmured, wrapping an arm around Simon. “Is this okay?” Simon nodded.  
“I just want to kick the shit out of someone, but I haven’t decided between Connor and Markus yet,” North said, plopping down on the edge of the bed, arms crossed.  
“Someone in the Canadian government might be a good choice,” Josh suggested.  
“Josh, did you just promote violence?”  
“Yes, now that I’m sure you’ll see it as a joke and won’t take it seriously.”  
“Like _that_ was something I struggled with,” North replied, rolling her eyes. “But seriously, if we’re all telling the full truth here: I’m just not sure how much I trust Connor. I haven’t really had the chance to get to know him.”  
“That’s true,” Simon replied. “He’s not around here that often.”  
“Maybe we should invite him over and do something together?” Josh suggested.  
“Maybe. Let’s talk about that in the morning.” North scooched closer to the opposite side of Josh from where Simon was sitting and leaned her head against Josh’s shoulder.  
“As much as I like being a pillow, it’s probably time to go into standby,” Josh said.  
“You can still be a pillow while we’re lying down,” Simon said. “Is it okay if we sleep in here again, North?”  
“You know it’s fine. It might get a little crowded once Markus is back, but we’ll figure it out. It seems like we always do,” North replied. “Now, are either of you going to change into something more comfortable, or are we all just going to sleep in our clothes?”  
“I don’t feel like going back to my room to change,” Simon muttered.  
“I’d rather stay with the two of you, so I guess I’m not leaving, either,” Josh said with a shrug.  
North sighed. “I think you two just like wearing my clothing too much, but whatever… at this point you guys may as well just keep all of your clothes in here….” She pulled some pieces out of the closet and threw them at Simon and Josh. “Have fun finding stuff that fits.”  
Simon grabbed a t-shirt and shorts that were on the smaller end of the selection and turned around to get changed. When he turned back around, he nearly laughed at how ridiculously short the pajama pants and t-shirt Josh had grabbed looked on him.  
“We definitely need to relocate all our closets into here if we’re going to keep doing this,” Josh said, tugging on the bottoms of the pant legs. “In other news, if you want to use me as a pillow, now’s the time.” He crawled to the middle of the bed and laid down on his back. Simon and North immediately joined him, Josh wrapping an arm around each of them.  
“Can I get kisses?” North whispered nervously.  
“Of course,” Josh replied, pressing a kiss against her lips before Simon leaned over to kiss each of them.  
 _”Goodnight, Serenity. I won’t be coming back to you room tonight. Don’t worry, I’m safe.”_


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank explains a bunch of stuff like meltdowns, stimming, and how his backstory as being bi and trans affected how he approached Cole being autistic. RK900 comes to the conclusion that he's autistic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: referenced homophobia, transphobia, and ableism; brief discussion of ABA and gay conversion therapy; brief discussion of trans pregnancy
> 
> How to make explaining literally anything fun: write it as if Hank is explaining it. Seriously, it works.
> 
> Listened to "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur while writing this (specifically the Madilyn Bailey/Joshua David Evans/KHS cover).

RK900 stared intently at the pamphlet he’d been holding, not reading it, but just staring at a random spot on the page while he listened to Hank’s explanation.  
“Well, the explanation I got from the goddamned psychologist was that autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes detriments in social skills and communication, and that kids with it are obsessed with stuff and have ‘repetitive behaviors’. At first I was like ‘okay, I guess that _kind of_ my kid, but what do I know, not like I’ve got a fancy diploma written in blue ink from whatever university’. Then the lady passed over a very long list of therapies and shit and offered to sign me up to meet with five gazillion different therapists in the next two hours. I think she got a little annoyed with me when I said I’d think about it instead of signing up for shit right there on the spot, but I’d lived long enough to know that I needed to get more information first. I was glad I didn’t agree to shit when I looked up the first therapy on the list and saw that the guy who created it was the same guy who created gay conversion therapy. If he weren’t already dead, I would’ve killed him myself. His goddamn principles almost got forced on Cole so many times, ‘specially when he got to school. I didn’t want Cole to grow up under the constant threat of ABA like I’d grown up under the threat of conversion therapy.”  
RK900 picked up his tablet from where it was sitting on the table. “So you’re gay?”  
“No, I’m bisexual and a transgender man,” Hank replied. “I always knew that I was different when I was growing up, but I knew it wasn’t safe to voice those thoughts around my family, so I didn’t say anything. Didn’t start messing with hormones or names or shit until I was in the police academy. That’s when Jeffrey and I became friends—he was the best ally I could’ve had. When I found out I was… pregnant with Cole, he was the one who helped me figure out what to do. His wife looked after Cole during more night shifts than I could count. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere in life without him. He’s a pain in the ass sometimes, but he’s also my closest friend.”  
“Are… are there people who would’ve helped Cole the same way you were helped instead of trying to change him?”  
“Don’t—“ Connor began to interrupt.  
Hank held up a hand. “It’s okay, Connor… you don’t have to protect me. There’s definitely plenty of autistic people around, if you keep a look out for them, as well as online. A group of autistic folks I met online were some of the best people I could’ve met. They helped me understand Cole so much better than I could’ve on my own… God, I miss talking to them. They were the ones who explained that he was experiencing meltdowns, not tantrums, and how to help him through and prevent them. They were the ones who reassured me that I was doing the right thing by talking to his school when he started getting meltdowns ‘cause he was getting frustrated in class.”  
“What’s a meltdown?” RK900 asked.  
“It’s kind of an autistic person’s breaking point when they get overwhelmed by their senses or emotions. They might run, cry, or act seemingly violently, which… sometimes makes other people scared of them. But then I learned what Cole was feeling during them, and I realized that I needed to be brave for him.”  
“Did Cole ever have sensory problems?” RK900 asked.  
Hank nodded. “Yeah. He was hypersensitive to smells – I swear I didn’t even know bread _had_ a smell before him – but he was also hyposensitive to sound. If I let him have free reign over the radio, he’d turn it up as loud as possible, and he’d still want it louder. He loved listening to music, and stimming to it by flapping his hands, jumping, and spinning.”  
“Please don’t tell me you let him listen to Knights of the Black Death with the volume at 100%,” Connor said.   
Hank smirked. “Oh, that was his favorite band. That’s why I play it so loud, though not as loud as he had it—turning the radio up just became a habit that I’ve never broken.”  
“Did Cole ever use AAC?” RK900 asked.  
“We tried some stuff out a couple times—free trials of apps, a few picture cards, stuff like that—but none of it ever stuck. Why, did you see something you want to try?”  
“I want to learn ASL.”  
“Then I’ll help you figure out how to make that possible.”  
“Thank you.” RK900 absent-mindedly flapped his arm while trying to figure out if it would be okay to bring up another thing he’d been thinking about.  
“RK900, is there something else on your mind?” Connor asked.  
“Yes, but I don’t know if it’s appropriate or not.”  
“You can say whatever it is in front of Connor and I, okay? I promise we won’t judge,” Hank said.  
“I believe I’m autistic, from your descriptions of Cole and the information I was able to find on the internet that seemed to match up with your descriptions.”  
Hank nodded. “I think you’re right. Not sure if it’s technically correct or whatever to say that an android is autistic, but if it’s not then you’re definitely the android-equivalent.”  
“You really think so?” RK900 started flapping excitedly. “I wasn’t sure if it would be okay to say that or not since Cole is dead, but because of your response, I think I’m happy!”  
“Yep, definitely autistic. You seem just like Cole when his favorite Knights of the Black Death song came on.” Hank glanced over to the side. When RK900 turned his head, he saw there was a clock there. “I assume you’re going to be spending the night here?” Hank asked.  
“Yes, if that’s okay, otherwise the New Jericho leaders said I could stay with them.”  
“Alright, you can probably… um… Connor’s been sleeping on my couch, so… I’ll let you two figure out your arrangements for going into standby or whatever. Just let me know if you need blankets or pillows or something, okay?”  
“Hank, I told you already, androids have a much larger tolerable range of temperatures than humans—“ Connor started before Hank held up a hand.  
“Cole usually experienced temperature differently than I did, and some other autistic people do as well. RK900’s temperature sensitivity might not be the same as yours.”  
“I haven’t really noticed temperature so far,” RK900 said, “Though my sensors indicated that the temperature outside was different than the temperature in here.”  
“Oh,” Connor replied. RK900 noticed an increase in Connor’s software instability levels, though he wasn’t sure why.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh has a dream that triggers his dysphoria. North and Simon help him through it, but he still can't get back into stasis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: bottom dysphoria, a sex dream right at the beginning (there is some description in it, but I didn't feel that it was enough to warrant bumping up the rating of this fic, especially considering that the scene is only a few lines long and there isn't going to be anything else like it in here)
> 
> Song I Listened to While Writing This: "The Air" by Noctilucent (this is what I listen to for most of my polycho-focused chapters, especially if they end up being super romantic like this one)

_Josh felt Simon’s arms wrap around his waist before he heard his voice: “Let me take care of you.”_  
 _”Please,” he whispered, nearly moaning._  
 _Simon’s hands moved to his dick, slowly caressing it._  
 _”Faster,” Josh said, moaning for real this time. Nothing had ever felt so good in his life._  
 _”Okay,” Simon replied, obliging. Josh turned around to kiss Simon, cupping his face as he pressed their lips together. Some part of him was surprised at the lack of warnings about his processor overheating, but that didn’t matter. Everything was perfect._  
 _”I think—I think I’m close,” Josh said, separating his lips from Simon’s with a light pop._  
 _”Thank you for letting me share this with you,” Simon whispered before pressing his lips against Josh’s again, his hand moving faster, the pressure and the heat rising, and--_  
Josh opened his eyes. Simon had flung his arm across Josh’s waist, clutching him tightly while in standby. On his other side, North had folded herself nearly into a ball, her light breaths warm against Josh’s arm.  
 _That was all a dream._ His thirium pump grew heavy at the thought. But shouldn’t he be happy anyways, considering he had three wonderful people who loved him, and that he was still alive after everything? _But I can’t truly be happy when my body feels so wrong._   
Simon shifted slightly. _When he looks at me, does he constantly think about how I don’t have a dick? Does he have to remind himself that we can’t have sex the way he might want to because I don’t have the right parts?_ Tears welled in his eyes. _I wish I could just go back into standby and come out of it with everything as it should be._  
 _”Josh?”_ Simon asked. _”I heard you crying… are you okay?”_  
 _”No. I’m not.”_ He cried more at that realization.  
 _”Dysphoria?”_  
Before Josh could respond, North’s breathing changed, and the bed shifted as she sat up. “What’s going on?”  
“Dysphoria. Dream. It sucked,” Josh mumbled into his pillow.  
“Shit. Is there anything I can do to help?”  
“I don’t know, I’m too tired to think of anything. I just want to go back into standby, but I can’t.” As if on cue, he blinked tiredly.  
“Do you want to talk about it? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it might help.”  
“Yeah—“ Josh hiccupped “—if I could stop crying.”  
“I could rub your back,” Simon suggested.  
Josh nodded. “Thanks.”  
Every one of Simon’s touches were completely different from those in the dream. Almost instantly, he felt calmer, like someone had clicked a magic button and cleared a bunch of error messages out of his vision. Finally, he felt the coming of an end to his tears.  
“Is that better?” Simon asked.  
“Yeah—but don’t stop.”  
“We’re ready to listen whenever you’re ready to talk,” North reminded him.  
“I had a dream where I was having sex with Simon. In the dream, everything was perfect and I was happy, but when I woke up, all I could think of was what I was missing, how that dream wouldn’t be able to happen right now. Then my mind started running away with everything, convincing me that people don’t really see me for who I am because of which biocomponents I have. I know that thought process was illogical, but I just couldn’t stop it. Not until Simon got out of stasis and asked me what was wrong.”  
“I’ll always be here for you,” Simon said. “Whenever you wake up in the middle of the night and need someone. Whenever you’ve convinced yourself that you aren’t loved. Whenever you want to experiment. I’ll always be right here. I love you, Josh.”  
“The sum of your parts isn’t what makes you the Josh that we love,” North said. “We love you because when we were back in Jericho, before Markus came, you actually did something while the rest of us were just wasting away. You found someone who needed your help, who needed a parent, and you gave that to him. When the rest of us made decisions that you didn’t like, or that made you feel uneasy, you always made sure we knew. Our freedom march would have gone so much differently if you hadn’t convinced Markus that we needed to stand our ground, that our sacrifices would eventually pay off. The rest of us all came to very different conclusions, none of which would have gotten us here today. You played one of the most important roles in why we succeeded. We love you because of who you have grown to become, and we will always love you.”  
“I love you both so much. Thank you,” Josh replied, feeling like he was about to cry again, but from happiness this time. “North, can I kiss you?”  
She nodded, adjusting herself so she was laying down facing Josh before pulling his lips towards hers.   
_”Josh, can I interface with you?”_ Simon asked.  
 _”Yeah.”_  
Simon continued tracing slow circles on Josh’s back, under his shirt, but this time without any skin between them. Josh saw every memory of his interactions with Simon play before his eyes, humming with an undercurrent of “I love you. I love you. I love you.” If North’s lips were simple, sweet bliss, then this was the ocean.  
Slowly, both the sweetness and the steady current disappeared as his lovers fell back into standby. _And here I am, alone with my thoughts. Again._ He briefly thought of contacting Markus before remembering that Markus’ communications were probably being monitored, and this… this was something that was more private to Josh than anything else in the world. _You’ll figure this out. You’re smart. You’ll get through this._


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor gets woken up by RK900, who's just been on the equivalent of an emotional roller coaster for someone who's just discovered emotions. Good news: he's made friends with Josh. Bad news: he's just discovered some of the worse parts of ableism. Connor tries to help comfort RK900; Hank actually helps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: discussion of ableism, brief discussion of the ending to _Of Mice And Men_ (which involves an abled character killing a mentally disabled character)

Connor blinked, the world coming into view as he came out of standby. A bright light emanated from the recliner— _RK900’s tablet. What time is it, anyways, that he’s up?_  
**4:45 AM**  
“RK900? Are you okay?” Connor asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position.  
RK900 held his tablet up from where he was seated in the recliner. “Yes, why?”  
“It’s 4:45 AM and you’re up! I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t get kicked out of standby…” _because Amanda came for you…_ “or anything,” Connor finished. _I’ll leave Amanda out of everything for now, unless RK900 brings her up. I don’t want to stress him out more than he needs to be. I don’t even know if he had Amanda in his head… I really hope he didn’t._  
“Well, I technically did, but it was just my tablet notifying me that I had a message. I rerouted the notifications so they occur inside my head.”  
“Junk, I assume?”  
“No, it was actually your friend, Josh. Well, I think he’s my friend, now, too.”  
_He barely made contact with Josh when we were at the tower… I hope he didn’t stay up too long talking to him…._ “Are you still talking to him now?”  
“No, we got done talking an hour and thirty-three minutes ago. I’m surprised he wanted to talk to me for that long, but I really liked it!” RK900 started flapping, though his LED was a steady blue this time.  
“Why do you do that?” Connor asked.  
RK900 looked up at Connor, his LED cycling yellow. “I think—I think it’s because I get full of emotion, and I have to let it out somehow. Talking to Josh made me happy!—Why are your software instability levels increasing so much?”  
“Maybe because this is what you did earlier, when you said everything was getting too loud, and now it has something to do with you being happy?!” _I don’t understand! I thought I knew how to read him! I’m supposed to be able to read people—am I somehow broken, that I can’t even understand my own **brother**?_  
Down the hall, the door to Hank’s room opened, momentarily distracting Connor and RK900. “What’s all the noise about? Am I the only one who actually sleeps at this time?” Hank grumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he slowly walked towards them.  
“I’m sorry we woke you, Hank… RK900 woke me up….”  
“And Josh woke me up before that.”  
“Christ, I really _am_ the only one who sleeps,” Hank muttered, ducking into the bathroom and flicking on the light. By the sound of running water and the lack of spitting sounds, Connor reasoned that he was getting a drink. Of water, of course. A moment later, he came out of the bathroom. “Alright, now that I’m awake, why were you yelling, Connor?”  
“It’s nothing, Hank—“  
“He got confused at my behavior for no reason.”  
“Okay, tell me everything. RK900, you go first.”  
“I woke up at 2:36 AM when Josh sent me a message on my tablet,” RK900 started. “We chatted about some subjects that Josh wanted me to keep to myself, and then Josh started telling me about some of the books he’s read.” RK900 began flapping again. “Then I said I wanted to read some books, and he told me about some sites where you can download and read classic literature for free and recommended some to start with, and then I read all of them! Then I was still bored, so I picked a random book and started reading, but then I started crying at the end because this one character killed another character because that character had killed other characters, but that doesn’t make any sense! Why would you do the thing you told someone else not to do because—because—“ Something changed in RK900’s flapping, every movement becoming much more rigid. Connor knew the movement was different, but couldn’t place what it meant.  
“Hey, I know they do and say some pretty terrible things in that book -- _Of Mice and Men_ , right?” Hank asked. RK900 nodded. “There can definitely be some awful people in real life. Thankfully, some things have gotten better than they used to be—I don’t hear the r-word getting said as much as it did when I was a kid—but there are still some people who think that autistic people should be cured, or should act in a way that makes it easy for everyone else to forget that they’re autistic. I tried my hardest to make sure Cole always felt like he could be himself, and I’m going to do the same for you, too.”  
“That sounds horrible,” Connor mumbled.  
Hank nodded. “That book was required reading when I was in school. I don’t know if it is anymore, but I would’ve put up a fight if it still was when Cole….” He shook his head, blinking back tears that Connor had registered when Hank had left his bedroom, but that he hadn’t been able to come up with reasoning for. “Anyways, Connor, if you don’t understand someone else’s behavior, you’re allowed to ask them, okay? Same goes for you,” he said, nodding towards RK900. “And if you’re looking for reading material, I could dust off some of the paper books I’ve got on my shelves. A bunch of old favorites of mine.”  
“Yes! Thank you! Could we talk about them together once I’ve read them?”  
Hank shrugged. “If you want, though I may need to reread some of them to be able to keep up with an android….”  
“Could I go back to New Jericho today? I want to spend some time with Josh. He said he has some books that we could read and talk about as well.”  
“’Course you can. Do you want Connor or I to come with, or do you think you could take a taxi on your own?”  
“I—I’d like to try going on my own….”  
“Okay. Just remember that we’re both a text or a phone call away… your tablet _does_ let you send messages, right?”  
“Yes, it does.”  
“Alright. Should probably give you our numbers first, though.” Hank recited off the digits so RK900 could input them himself rather than separating him from his communication device.  
“Got it. Thank you, Hank,” RK900 said. The words appeared slowly on the screen, as if the letters themselves were sluggish.  
“Did you do that on purpose?”  
“No, I’m not sure why that happened… everything in my system seems to be slowing down….”  
Hank chuckled. “Okay, I think that might mean you need to get some rest. Don’t worry; even if you sleep in, New Jericho will still be there in the afternoon.”  
“I guess… good night, Hank. Good night, Connor.”  
“Good night, RK900… I’m going to go into stasis for longer as well.”  
“Alright. Good night, you two.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None
> 
> I listened to the long "King Again" by Lauren Aquilina while writing this chapter.

North blinked as she came out of standby. Next to her, Josh was still in standby, and Simon… was nowhere to be found.  
 _”Simon? Where are you?”_  
 _”In my room. I got up earlier and didn’t want to disturb you two.”_  
 _”What are you up to?”_  
 _”I got worried about what we would do with Connor to get to know him, so I trusted millennials on the internet to give me ideas.”_  
 _”Oh no….”_  
 _”I pirated Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Smash Bros, and got everything set up so we could play it off of the TV in my room.”_  
 _I’d better find out what these games are…._ After a quick google search, she continued her conversation with Simon. _”So, a racing game, an odd assortment of mini-game rejects, and a fighting game are going to help us get to know him?”_  
 _”It’s not really about the games themselves, it’s about getting him to loosen up and be willing to share… I think that’s a good approach?”_  
 _”Probably. So you want to invite him over today?”_  
 _”I think it’s better just to get this out of the way, as long as Josh is fully-rested.”_  
 _”You called?”_ Josh asked, coming out of standby next to North.  
 _”Simon found some games and thought that maybe we could invite Connor over to come play them with us.”_  
 _”That sounds fun.”_  
 _”Do you two want to get dressed and meet in my room?”_ Simon asked.  
 _”Yeah… sorry, Josh, I’m kicking you out.”_  
 _”Is it really kicking me out if I was about to go back to my room to grab some clothes that actually fit anyways?”_  
North laughed as Josh left her room. _Alright, let’s find something to wear…._ She flipped through the various articles of clothing hanging in her closet. _If Josh, Simon, Markus, and I were to all keep our clothes in the same place, we’d probably need a dedicated room for a closet._ Besides the fact that there would be four people sharing it, North and Markus both enjoyed fashion quite a bit, and each had a decent-sized collection of clothing items. Finally, she picked out an outfit: a teal turtleneck with a black vest and pants, along with a pair of black boots. Her hair had started to come out of the loose braid she’d had it in overnight, so she just took out the braid and let her hair lay in loose waves.  
“There’s our queen,” Josh said as she entered Simon’s room.  
“I didn’t take _that_ long getting ready, did I?” She asked.  
“I think you took more time than you thought you did,” Simon replied, smirking.  
“So, did you get everything set up?”  
“The games are all playable. We can control them through wireless communications with the TV. The TV remote should work as a controller as well, if we need it.”  
“So that just leaves inviting Connor over. I can do the honors if you want?”  
Simon and Josh nodded.  
 _Hey, want to come hang out with Simon, Josh, and I today? We’ve got videogames!_  
 _I could make it over there after work,_ Connor replied. _RK900 wanted to come visit today as well, but he had a long night. Tell Josh thanks for that. Can he come with? Oh, and Hank, too? I don’t want him to feel left out. Well, if we do that… could we bring Sumo as well?_  
“He said he can come, and to thank Josh for keeping RK900 up all night? Didn’t you go to bed?”  
“Eventually. I couldn’t get back into standby right away after the two of you did, though, so I ended up talking with RK900… he was actually interested in my books, unlike _some people_.”  
“Hey, it’s not my fault that all your favorites are slow and boring! But seriously, are you okay after last night?”  
“I’m better. Still not 100% -- and I honestly don’t think I’ll get there until we figure something out – but now I can actually _think_ without my thoughts all looping back to dysphoria.”  
“Simon? What about you?”  
“I’m nervous about seeing Connor today, but I think I can handle it. Everything’s healed now.”  
“Let us know if that changes, okay? You come first. Not Connor. If you need to take a break – if you need us to call off this whole thing – we’ll do it.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Connor also said that RK900 wanted to visit and will probably come with, and that he wanted to bring Hank and… Sumo?... so they wouldn’t feel left out.”  
“I guess having the remote to use as a controller _will_ be useful, then,” Simon said. “Sumo’s a dog, right? Do you think he’d be scared of Serenity?”  
“I’ll ask.”  
 _Bring them! Will Sumo be scared of Serenity? Not a big deal if he is, we have multiple rooms for a reason._  
“Will we be able to play with six people?” Josh asked. “Or will some of us have to sit out?”  
“I think Mario Kart will be the only one where two people have to sit out, based on the way the screen is divided,” Simon said. “The other games should be fine, though.”  
 _Hank said he’ll come. I’ll let you know when we’re on our way – we might get off work early if nothing comes up. He said he has no idea how Sumo will react, but we’re going to bring him. I’ll have RK900 feed him during the day so we don’t have to bother with bringing dog food._  
“And we’ve officially got six players, a dog, and a polar bear for tonight’s hang out,” North announced.  
 _Is this going to be a sleepover? Just want to make sure Hank has enough to eat if we don’t go home until sometime tomorrow. We’ll bring human food._  
“Connor asked if this will end up turning into a sleepover…” North said.  
“I don’t think I want to do that,” Simon said, “At least not for the first time we’re hanging out.”  
“Yeah, I think that might be a bit much,” Josh added.  
 _I don’t think we’re up for hosting this time around. Maybe if we do this in the future?_  
 _Okay. We’ll see you all tonight!_


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor explains the evening's plans to Hank. On their way to work, they talk about a hat Hank got on his first date with Cole's other father, and Connor and Hank both confess how much they trust each other, coupled with Hank wondering if Connor might be interested in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: mention of drinking, red ice, and an absent father/romantic partner  
> Guess we're starting the HankCon shipping now. Honestly, this wasn't what I was expecting to put in this chapter, but then again, I had almost zero expectations for this chapter except for the fact that Hank needed to be informed about the plans for the night.  
> Listened to "Aftermath" by Koethe while writing this chapter.

“So _why_ did you wake me up five minutes before my alarm by asking me if Sumo would get along with an android polar bear?” Hank asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.  
“We’re going to hang out with North, Simon, and Josh at New Jericho after work today,” Connor replied.  
“And you didn’t think to ask me.” Connor’s silence told Hank that he hadn’t. “Hey, it’s okay. Just, maybe ask next time before making plans for other people, okay?”  
“Okay. I’m sorry, Hank.”  
“So Sumo’s coming with us, and I’m guessing RK900 is as well?”  
“Yes. I figured he could use the extra time in stasis while we’re gone, and then we could all go together.”  
“Alright. Make sure you leave a note or whatever it is androids do when they want to leave each other a message to look at later.”  
“I’ll do that later… what would you like to eat tonight, Hank? I figured I would pack you something now, so all we have to do is grab it after work when we come over to get RK900 and Sumo.”  
“Gee, you really thought of everything, didn’t you?”  
Connor pulled his quarter out of his pocket and started doing tricks with it. “Hopefully I did. I just want this to go well. It’s not like I’ve been invited to ‘hang out’ with anyone before… that I don’t live with.”  
“Yeah, I suppose that’s true.” Hank took a sip of his coffee. “I’ll pack my own lunch once I'm done with this.”  
“Okay.” Connor’s eyes momentarily darted off to the side as his LED flicked to yellow, then back to blue. “I’d just like it if we could get to work as soon as possible, so that maybe we can leave before anything happens requiring us to stay late as the on-duty detectives and cancel our plans.”  
“Now you’re thinking like a cop. Everybody wants to be out of there on Fridays, ‘cause that’s when a bunch of shit will undoubtedly hit the fan.” Hank paused. “Wait a sec. You didn’t purposely plan this to keep me from drinking tonight, did you?”  
“No. Actually, North reached out to me, and then I suggested having you and Sumo come along as well, since RK900 and I were already going to be there.”  
“Well, as long as you don’t think we’d be intruding on your bonding time or anything…”  
“Of course you wouldn’t. Are you done drinking your coffee yet? You still need to pack food for tonight.”  
“Alright, alright, I’m done. Are you sure they don’t have food at New Jericho?”  
“No, unless you decided to try ingesting thirium, which I wouldn’t recommend.”  
“Yeah, no way I’m going to try out one of the main ingredients in Red Ice.” As he packed some food items in a lunch box, Hank noticed that Connor’s LED was swirling yellow. “Got something else on your mind?”  
“I was surprised when you were up last night. You usually don’t get up in the middle of the night like that unless you’ve been drinking and get your sleep schedule thrown off. The only other time you’ve been sober and done that was at Christmas….” Connor’s LED abruptly changed to red.  
“Figured it out?” Hank asked seriously.  
“It’s because of Cole, isn’t it,” Connor said softly.  
“Bingo.” Hank zipped up the lunch box at threw it in the fridge. “Ready to head out?”  
“Yes….” Now Connor was fiddling with his phone. “I’ve just sent a note to RK900’s tablet about what we’re doing this afternoon.”  
Hank knelt down to where Sumo was lying on the floor, looking a little tired. “Be a good boy, Sumo, and we’ll go do something fun tonight, okay?” It felt wrong to leave the house without saying anything to RK900, but he didn’t want to wake the still-sleeping android.   
Hank and Connor stepped outside. Gray clouds coated the sky, and the cold nipped at Hank’s uncovered hands and face.  
“Are you sure you don’t need gloves?” Connor asked. “Or a hat?”  
“Come on, Con, I don’t need a babysitter,” Hank replied, rolling his eyes. “And I don’t do hats.”  
“Then why do you have one on your desk at work?”  
“It’s for decoration.”  
“I’m surprised you, of all people, even know what that is.”  
“Connor!” Hank exclaimed as he backed the car out of the driveway. “Of course I know what decorating is.”  
“Hmm…” Connor smirked… or, attempted to. “You seem to lack a cohesive style. Everything you have… it’s all just little fragments of memories. Or, at least, that’s what it seems like to me.”  
“You’ve got me right there… that hat was from my first proper date. Well, really my only proper date. But we sure did hook up a lot.”  
“Are you referring to…?”  
Hank could recognize that brand of hesitancy anywhere. “Cole’s other father? Yeah. Wasn’t much of one, though. He took responsibility enough to make his child support payments on time, but that was it. More than a lot of people can say, though.”  
“Oh. I’m sorry this got brought up.”  
“It’s alright. Honestly, I’m surprised you never asked, considering your fondness for ‘personal questions’.”  
“I just didn’t think it was appropriate to ask.”  
“Connor…” They’d pulled into a space at the DPD’s parking ramp. Hank turned off the car and turned to his partner. “You’re one of the people I trust the most.” He’d been thinking about this a lot lately. Connor had a steady job, a place he could go to if he chose, other people he could confide in. And yet, he’d stuck around.  
“Thank you. Markus may have caused me to face the red wall of my programming, but you were the one I was thinking of the whole time I was tearing it down. I knew you wouldn’t have wanted me to kill him. I knew you thought I was better than that. I knew I _wanted_ to be better than that, for you.”  
“You really put a lot of faith into me, there. But I’m not a genius. That could’ve backfired on you.”  
“It could have… but it didn’t when you told me not to shoot at Kamski’s. It didn’t when you told me to do what I needed to do at Cyberlife Tower. That was when I realized… I needed you to be alive. _I_ needed to be alive. Otherwise, what would be the point at the end of it all? You were the one I’d been building a relationship with this whole time. I would’ve been working towards nothing then, except the abstract goal of android liberation.”  
Hank stared at Connor, wide-eyed. _That sounded like… no, it couldn’t have been… was it? Sure, I always considered the possibility that he might be interested in me, and that I might find him attractive, but there was no way it was going to happen, so I always pushed it aside, figured I should be grateful for one of the few people I have._  
“Anyways, we should probably be heading into the station now. We _do_ still need to work, even if the idea that we have plans after work could prove highly distracting,” Connor said, slipping out of the car. “Hank, are you coming?”  
“Yeah, yeah.” _He is cute,_ Hank admitted to himself. _And don’t even get me started on everything else._


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None
> 
> I listened to "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Panic! at the Disco while writing this.
> 
> Also, I'm thinking that this is going to be the second-to-last chapter of this work, barring anything else coming up that I want to address at this particular moment in the story before switching to the next work in the series. I'm super excited, as Kara's family will start having perspectives!

Markus practically ran to the hotel room that the Canadian government had provided him with. He’d gotten out of negotiations a couple hours earlier than expected, and they actually seemed to be going well, with a promise to draft legislation involving the de-criminalization of thirium possession and sales, and the amicable reception of his suggestion to appoint an android-welfare representative. Accidentally slamming the hotel room door in his hurry, he ran across the room to the TV and interfaced with it to make his nightly call to New Jericho. He sat down on the bed as he waited for North, Josh, and Simon to pick up. And he waited. And waited.  
 _I would’ve gotten about a million calls and messages from other androids if something had gone wrong, wouldn’t I?_  
“Markus!” Simon finally answered, his face coming into view on the screen.  
“Hi, Simon,” Markus replied. “Where’s—“ He caught sight of the rest of the room as Simon stepped away from the screen. In addition to him, North, and Josh, Connor and Hank were also there. Hank appeared a little flushed as Connor leaned against him. Next to the two of them, an android that was the splitting image of Connor sat fiddling with a tablet. _That must be RK900._ In the background, Serenity had curled up on the bed. _Why are they in Simon’s room? And… why is there a Saint Bernard cuddled up with her?_   
“Take that, Peach!” North shouted, pumping her fist into the air. Next to her, Josh groaned.  
“No!” Connor exclaimed.   
Hank patted his back sympathetically.   
Finally, the background music that Markus had barely noticed finished. “Am I… interrupting something?”  
From somewhere close to the TV in Simon’s room, an unfamiliar voice shouted, “Meta Knight!”  
“Great job, RK900,” Simon said.   
“Are you kidding?! That was, like, his fifth win in a row!” North shouted.  
“Guys, maybe we should tell Markus what’s going on,” Josh said. Everyone immediately quieted down. “We’re having a game night and playing Smash. Simon grabbed the TV from North’s room when we realized you were calling, so we’ve got you on one screen and the game on the other.”  
 **Smash is a commonly-used abbreviation for the Super Smash Brothers Franchise, a fighting game using various Nintendo characters.**  
“Well, I’m glad you’re having a game night without telling me instead of, I don’t know, having gotten attacked or something,” Markus replied sarcastically.  
RK900 held up the tablet he’d been holding. “Hi, I’m RK900,” it read.  
“I’m Markus, but I’m sure you’ve heard of me by now.”  
RK900 nodded. “Yes. My brother, as he insists to be called, has filled me in on the events leading up to the android liberation. Thank you, Markus.”  
He waved his hand dismissively. “One person can’t lead a revolution by themselves. Everyone around you played just as big of a role as I did.”  
“Hey, is there a way one of you could, like, set up the TVs or something so that Markus could play with us?” Hank asked.  
“Maybe….” Josh got up and walked towards the TV, presumably to see if he could set it up.  
“So, how are things?” North asked.  
“Pretty good, actually. I think I’ll be able to come home in a couple of days, though I’d like to see how things are going for the androids who came here before I leave.”  
While listening to Markus, Connor had started doing coin tricks. Almost immediately after, RK900’s LED turned red.  
“RK900? Are you okay?” Simon asked, interrupting the conversation.  
RK900 interfaced with his tablet as he held it up towards Connor, who immediately froze. “How do you know about Amanda? You don’t have her inside your head, too, do you?”  
RK900 shook his head, LED spinning yellow. Hank placed a protective hand on Connor’s shoulder. The message on RK900’s tablet must have changed, because Connor’s LED also started to spin yellow.   
“RK900? Connor? Hank? What’s going on?” Simon asked, fidgeting with the end of his shirt sleeve.   
“The manual,” Connor said. “We think there was a typo in it that someone made, and as a joke, the Cyberlife technicians carried it through the whole thing. Whenever they said RK900, they actually meant RK800. It’s about me, not my brother.”  
Everyone froze, including Josh, who had stepped back to turn and look at Connor and RK900.  
Markus cleared his throat. “Would someone _please_ tell me what’s going on here?”  
RK900 held up his tablet. “In the testing room that I was being kept in before I became deviant, there was an ‘Owner’s Manual’ for the RK900. Several parts of the manual didn’t align with my memories, such as having a quarter to stim with, committing some acts that suggested deviancy during testing, or having an AI called Amanda inside my head, but I assumed that these anomalies were all due to my memory card being taken out and destroyed between the testing of different models. Many of the other parts of the manual, such as having my internal communications disabled, were also true for me, but I found it odd that the manual didn’t say anything about me not being able to verbally say anything besides the model and serial number requirement.”  
“Connor, are you okay?” Hank asked, looking at Connor’s LED in concern. It was switching rapidly between yellow and red. Abruptly, it switched to blue.  
“I’m fine. I just need to process this more while I’m in stasis tonight, that’s all.”  
Hank didn’t seem to believe him. “Alright, if you say so.”  
“I think I’ve got everything hooked up, so you should be able to play with us, Markus,” Josh said. “You’ll just need to set up your TV so that you can see the screen for Smash.”  
Markus nodded and walked up to the TV, interfacing with both it and the computer monitor that sat on the desk below it. “All set,” he said, stepping back. The character select screen for Super Smash Brothers Brawl was displayed on the TV screen, while everyone back at New Jericho Tower was shown on the computer monitor, so he would be able to see if RK900 said anything.  
“I modded the game so we could play with more than four people, and so we could control the game through our wireless communications,” Simon explained.  
Markus nodded, noticing that Hank and Connor were using what looked like TV remotes, while RK900 seemed to be using his tablet. “Okay… can everyone tell me who they’re playing as? Using numbers and colors to denote the players isn’t very helpful.”  
“North is Zelda, Simon is Samus, Josh is Peach, RK900 is Meta Knight, I’m Kirby, and Hank absolutely insisted on playing as Pikachu,” Connor said.  
“Hey, I’ve been playing as Pikachu since the original, and I’m not going to stop now!” Hank grumbled loudly. “Oh, and we do have one house rule: no looking up character stats, moves, or anything else that would give you an advantage. If I learned to play this by mashing a bunch of buttons randomly, then so are you. Or, as close as you can get to it, anyways.”  
Markus laughed. “Of course. I will… or, won’t.” He looked through the different characters, not quite knowing how to decide between them.  
“Come on, we’re waiting…” North said.  
“Hey, you were the one who took five hours deciding before Hank told you that Zelda could switch into Sheik,” Josh replied.  
Markus glanced between a couple of the characters one last time before settling on Marth.  
“Interesting. Why’d you choose him?” Hank asked.  
Markus shrugged. “Just liked his aesthetic, I guess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last note: I'll be going into a little more detail about how I assigned some of the characters to their Smash characters next chapter, but if anyone has any burning questions, feel free to ask!  
> For easy reference, here's the list:  
> Markus – Marth  
> RK900 – Meta Knight   
> Hank – Pikachu  
> Connor – Kirby  
> North – Zelda/Sheik (she favors Sheik, but isn’t opposed to switching to Zelda if it would give her the upper hand)  
> Josh – Peach  
> Simon – Samus
> 
> Finally, the foreshadowing! There's a couple big plot things foreshadowed in this chapter that I'm super excited about! One of them does have to do with how I assigned Smash characters.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None
> 
> So I've decided this is going to be the last chapter for this work! Make sure to subscribe to the New Jericho Tower series to be notified when I post the next work! I'll also post on my DBH tumblr, im-the-real-connor, so feel free to come follow and talk to me there as well. Thanks for reading!

“Shit!” Markus shouted as Marth died on-screen. He took the opportunity to stretch out from the hunched position he’d been in while focusing on the game.  
On the video feed from New Jericho Tower, RK900’s LED was rapidly circling yellow as Meta Knight started going after Peach. Just as it seemed like she was going to die…  
“Not so fast,” Josh said, grinning. Pictures of Peach appeared on the screen as a brief jingle played. Peach ran around to collect the various fallen fruits while Meta Knight slept soundly.  
Just as the slumber faded, North smirked as Sheik pulled out her bow and arrow, hitting Peach squarely in the chest in a special cinematic.  
“Wait, how are you guys doing those things?” Simon asked.  
“Final Smash,” Josh said.  
Samus charged a giant laser and aimed it at Sheik, knocking her out and causing Samus’ suit to fall away. “Wait, Samus has two forms?”  
Taking advantage of Simon’s surprise, Sheik got up from the knockout and managed to get rid of Samus once and for all. “Yes!” North cheered, turning Sheik to face her final opponent.  
RK900 easily won the match without Meta Knight’s final smash.  
North grumbled something inaudible in response, crossing her arms and glaring at him.  
“I’m tired of losing all the time,” Connor complained, looking at Hank with puppy dog eyes that made Markus’ thirium pump regulator skip a beat.  
“Hmm… maybe you should play as someone besides Kirby, then?”  
“But I wanted to be matching with RK900!”  
“He actually means he wanted to be cute and adorable,” Josh whispered loudly.  
Markus giggled. He couldn’t wait to be back with everyone and do this in-person.  
Josh cleared his throat loudly. “ _Anyways_ , did you see Simon’s face when he saw that Samus had a second form?”  
“And then _someone_ had to take advantage of that,” Simon replied, glaring at North.  
Hank laughed along with everyone else. “Yeah, I remember the first time I finished the first _Metroid_ game with a short enough time to get the reveal of Samus being a girl at the end. Some of my classmates were super pissed when they found out.”  
Everyone stopped laughing. “Why would they care about her gender?” Connor asked.  
Hank glanced between the androids, noticing their blank faces. “Because gaming was stereotypically a guy thing – I only got to play them when my older cousin would get done with them – and people figured that guys would want to play as characters they could relate to – other guys.”  
“I knew from a couple history classes I taught that there was a lot of sexist trash in human past, but it always seemed so far away,” Josh said. “It’s weird hearing it from someone who’s alive today. Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about Peach being a girl when I chose her – I _may_ have cheated and looked up who the most pacifistic character in this game was, though. I’d rather put characters to sleep rather than actually killing them or knocking them out or whatever.”  
North scoffed. “Leave it to Josh to try and be a pacifist in a literal fighting game, I guess. But really, all that sexist bullshit is just another reason why humans are complete and utter trash. No offense, of course.”  
“None taken. That’s one good thing about being trans, I guess – figured out which things were just a bunch of sexist bullshit pretty quickly,” Hank replied.  
Markus had noticed that RK900’s LED had been spinning yellow for at least five minutes now. “RK900? Is there something you wanted to say?”  
RK900 nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, it’s just harder for me to talk when it’s a lot of people like this. Simon, I wanted to ask if you wanted one of these bracelets Hank found for me to stim with? I noticed you were playing with your sleeve.” He held out a textured, silver bracelet that appeared to be extremely bendable.  
“Are you sure?” Simon asked, taking the bracelet from RK900 and testing it out.  
“Yes, you can keep it if you like it.”  
Simon smiled. “Thank you.”  
“Hey, Nines,” North said.  
RK900’s LED turned red. “It’s RK900.”  
“Sorry. Anyways, is there some way we could make it easier for you to talk with us when we’re doing stuff like this?”  
RK900 shrugged. “I don’t know. Obviously you can’t be looking at my tablet while we’re playing videogames on the TV. Having a verbal voice would probably be the best solution, but I don’t really know if I want that. To me, my voice is in text – having a voice as a series of sounds would just feel wrong, like when you called me by a different name.”  
North nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. You could maybe, I don’t know, tap one of us on the shoulder if you want to say something as well.”  
“Can I ask a question?” Hank asked, glancing between North, Simon, Josh, and Markus.  
“Of course,” Markus said. “What’s it about?”  
Hank tapped the side of his forehead. “Why don’t you four have LEDs? I’ve only seen a couple other androids who didn’t have them.”  
“I took mine out when I escaped an android junkyard. I figured my best way of escaping that place and getting to Jericho would be if I pretended to be human, since my appearance is unique.”  
“Did it… hurt? I’m surprised you could take it out without leaving a mark behind or something.”  
Markus shook his head. “It only hurt a little bit, but I’d also just become deviant a few hours before, and androids become more sensitive to pain the longer they’ve been deviant… Simon? Was yours that painful?”  
“It probably would’ve felt painful if my legs weren’t also injured when I did it, so I was more focused on the pain from them.”  
“As for marks, it’s pretty difficult for androids to get scars,” Josh explained. “Our self-repair systems are advanced enough and taking out an LED creates a wound minor enough that we’re able to fix it in seconds, without a trace that it ever existed.”  
“We usually only get scars by plugging in parts that aren’t fully compatible,” Markus added. “I’ve got some scars around my knee joints from where I had to replace my lower legs from what I could find in the junkyard.”  
“Wow,” Hank said, looking more at Connor next to him than anyone else. “That’s incredible.”  
An alert popped up saying that someone was trying to get ahold of Markus. “I need to take this call,” he said, “But I’d really like to do this again sometime when I can actually be there in person.”  
After saying goodbye to everyone, he answered the call. “Hello?”  
“Hello, Markus,” the voice on the other end said. “We’ve cleared you for access to meet those detained in relation to illegal thirium transport and sales. We have arranged transport for you to and from the detention center where they are being held tomorrow.”


End file.
